Lady Gaga’s Mother Presents Her With Billboard’s Woman Of The Year Award

Lady Gaga was honored as Billboard's Woman of the Year this month, the ceremony of which finally aired last night on television (the event itself was held on December 11).

There to present Gaga with her award was her own mother, Cynthia Germanotta, who toasted to her famous daughter with an incredibly heartwarming, touching, and emotional speech, describing her at one point as "a woman who paved her own way because of her passion and true love for music, art, and humanity."

"Twenty-nine years ago, two very important things happened in our family," Germanotta began, launching into the story of how one of our most iconic musical stars was born. "Our first daughter was born and my mother-in-law, Angelina Germanotta who is here with us today, called my husband Joe and asked if he wanted his childhood piano. Our daughter was not even one year old. And we thought it would be wonderful to have a piano in the house since we all love music so much. That family piano was the beginning of and a catalyst for a curious, creative, compassionate and self-driven baby girl. She learned to walk by grabbing on to the leg of that piano and pulling herself up and in the process, managed to reach the keys. She heard the sound and thereafter, day after day, she would go to the piano and press those black and white keys."

In addition Mother Monster's mama's speech, a handful of revered entertainment industry icons, from Elton John to Julie Andrews to Tony Bennett, all paid tribute to the pop star via video testimonials, with Andrews praising her ability to connect the classics with modern music: "She makes a huge bridge between the great songs of the American songbook and today's audiences."

After the tribute, Gaga herself took to the stage to perform her heartbreaking ballad about rape culture, "Til It Happens To You," on the piano, sharing quietly, "I hope that anybody that's watching tonight that loves music knows that if you work really hard you can just do anything if you believe."